Appearing for the second time

[StaceyKoprince]

The best brain food is protein and fat, with some complex carbs to help the energy stay in your body for a while. So make sure that bread is whole grain and put something on it that contains some protein and fat - whatever you like to eat. :)

Lime water / lime soda is good to drink as long as it isn't filled with fake sugar or high fructose corn syrup.

[brijmohan]

Hi Stacey,

I have consistently scored 760 in two of GMAT Prep exams. Am I good to go for the final test on May 2? Are there any things that I can find out from the tests that I should work on in the next 5 days?

There are two areas that are still a little weak. In the latest test, I got the following number of questions wrong:
RC - 1, CR - 2, SC - 3

I am not concerned about RC as the question I did wrong was pretty tough. But in CR, both the questions I did wrong were reasonably easy. I say this because when I attempted them immediately after the test, I was able to answer correctly very quickly. For example, in this question "Whales originated in the freshwater lakes and rivers of ancient Asia about sixty million years ago. Not until about ten million years later did species of whales develop specialized kidneys enabling them to drink salt water. Although fossil evidence shows that some early whale species that lacked such kidneys sometimes swam in the Earth’s saltwater oceans, these species must have had to return frequently to freshwater rivers to drink. Which of the following is most strongly supported by the information given?", I simply did not register "originated in Asia" and so got the question wrong. During the exam I remember going through the question, then the options and feeling that no option was correct. Then, I read the passage again quickly and reattempted but with no avail. Consequently, I got it wrong. Similar case happened with the second question. Can I do something about this?

I am also a bit worried about SC. SC is one section where I believe that I should be scoring full as it is totally objective. What should I do to improve over the next 5 days? I am planning to revise OG and VR rather than going through any new content. Does that make sense?

Since the test is in another 5 days, I would really appreciate a quick response (not that you haven't been quick!).

Thanks.

[StaceyKoprince]

Hi, sorry I'm just getting to this now - but, as you've discovered, I'm only on the forums a couple of times a week. I don't see your request until I actually answer it. :)

But I don't actually want you to try to improve in the final 5 days anway. Your score is what it is at this point. You want to do three things:

(1) general review of the major question types and topic areas (NOT studying 10 hours a day cramming everything!)
(2) think about how to minimize careless mistakes (but recognize that you're still going to make some)
(3) do LESS the closer you get to test day

The day before, don't study more than an hour. At this point, you know it or you don't. It's far better to rest your brain. Have dinner at a restaurant you've been wanting to try, see a movie that you've been wanting to see - do something to distract you from dwelling on the test.

If you do notice careless mistakes, such as the CR mistakes you described, you can think about what you might be able to do to minimize those, such as jotting down notes as you read. There's a good chance that what you described was caused by mental fatigue, though - you can't entirely get rid of that. As long as mental fatigue doesn't cause a ton of careless mistakes, it's okay.

If you took those practice tests under official conditions (including essay, IR, length of breaks, etc), and you hadn't seen any of the questions before, then it does sound like you're good to go. Good luck!

[abhitechie]

BrijMohan,

How did you score on the GMAT, Could you get that 760 ?

[StaceyKoprince]

I'd love to know too!